


See Through The Dragon's Eyes

by thecatsred



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Dragon Hanzo Shimada, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-10-18 16:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10620483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecatsred/pseuds/thecatsred
Summary: There is little to be done once Hanzo's dragons have their minds set on solving his problems (with some nudging from certain interested parties).





	1. Transformation

**Author's Note:**

> Tags for characters will be added as they appear. 
> 
> This was beta'd by two lovely friends of mine; thank you both so much!

A breeze coming in off the coast brings with it the scent of the ocean and the wildflowers that grow in the grounds surrounding Watchpoint Gibraltar. The steady hum of far-off traffic and splash of the waves against the cliff face bring Hanzo slowly out of his meditation. Hanzo gets up from the sunny patch of grass he’d been sitting on and stretches out his back. He hears Genji hum off to his right, and Zenyatta lower himself from his floating position to his left. Hanzo didn’t normally join them too often out here, preferring his own space within the building, but it was nice to join his brother for simple companionship. 

“Did this session help clear your mind from the thoughts that have been bothering you, Hanzo?” The mild face of Zenyatta turns to look up at him, and Hanzo fights the urge to look away as if he was being read. “If not, perhaps you should return tomorrow. I can speak with you without your brother’s presence if you prefer.”

“Hey,” Genji starts, standing in one graceful movement. He points at Zenyatta accusingly while Hanzo stands there quietly. “I did nothing to disrupt him this time.” He says, puffing up in mock indignance. Zenyatta’s light laughter follows and Genji calms immediately. 

“That you did not, my student. However,” He turns back to Hanzo, “I believe your brother values his privacy. It could be easier for him to speak on his own. Am I wrong, Hanzo?”

Hanzo tries to school his face into something impassive, but he is unable to hold Zenyatta’s serene gaze “I...no, you are not wrong.” He knows Genji is giving him that look, even if he cannot see his brother’s face. Despite most of him having been replaced, Genji’s body language remained virtually the same. And for Hanzo he was always easy to read.

Hanzo feels something unnerving settling in his stomach, so he bows a respectable depth to Zenyatta, which earns him a chuckle, and excuses himself before he has to  _ explain things _ to Genji. 

Hanzo walks down the hill leading to the base, pulling his hair ribbon a little tighter to keep his hair from escaping on his way inside. His reasons for joining their meditation today were his own, he tells himself while he approaches the living quarters. If Genji found out, he’d never hear the end of it, and most importantly, the very last person he wanted to know about this would be made aware within  _ minutes _ . It wasn’t worth the risk.

His room is dark when he enters, and he moves to the window to open it, hoping some fresh air and light will calm him. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot quiet his mind, the questions he has on the tip of his tongue drowning him.  Too many things going through him, too many emotions, his stomach grows upset with him, his head dizzy. He feels hot, he has to sit down. 

Something is wrong. Hanzo blinks a few times, trying to clear the blurry sensation from his eyes, but it persists, worsens. He takes a few wobbly steps towards  his dresser where he left a glass of water that morning. His hand reaches out, shakes in a hazy outline in front of his face. He knocks over the glass, cursing at the sound of water cascading off his dresser and soaking into his carpet. 

He gasps. His chest feels tight, air trapped in his lungs. His legs are solid but useless underneath him. He cannot move, but he is falling.

-

When Hanzo awakens, he is more than disoriented. He tries to push himself up and only gets caught in some sort of cloth under his head, his arms. He thrashes, suddenly afraid, then freezes.

He looks up to find that everything in his room is  _ massive _ . Towering over him, his bed looks several meters tall, the recesses of the underneath a dark, cavernous space that he, logically, knows contains mostly old books and some equipment for bow repair, but in his confused and frightened mind, it’s terribly imposing. He doesn’t understand. Everywhere he turns, more things loom over him, casting shadows from the late-day sun. He tries again to sit up, finding his arms much too short, too weak. He shuffles some more, feeling something behind himself moving along with his spine, and that only serves to confuse him more. 

He tries once more to push himself up, looking down at his hands only to find...claws? Paws? The cloth that had been covering him was in fact his own clothing, now monstrously too big for him. If he could laugh, he is certain he’d be laughing in that pained sort of way you do when you don’t want to believe what you’re seeing. 

_ Well, fuck.  _

As the shock wears off, Hanzo curves his head to look down the length of the rest of his body, his blue scales and golden mane were, at the very least, pleasing to look at. He feels himself preen a little. If he was to be trapped in this tiny body, at least he was  _ pretty.  _

Hanzo uncoils himself from the pile of clothing and tumbles onto his carpet. His first few steps are unsteady at best. He manages to hobble over to his door, staring at it in contempt. He had to get help, he knew this. But...how? He could barely move, let alone pry the door open. His claws might be sharp and intimidating, but he was still small and weak, with no way of asking Athena to open it for him (his first and only attempt at speech left him  _ squeaking _ into the oversized room). The only solution then, he decides, pressing his chest flat against the floor, is to crawl his way out from under the damn thing. 

This was, as were all things in life, easier said than done. He manages to shimmy a third of his total length, of which he guesses is just shy of two feet, through the gap before his purchase on the floor gives way. The hall was polished concrete, not great for grasping paws, and he is still getting the hang of this whole ‘having a tail’ business. He could only sway his back end, his lower extremities doing shit for pushing him forwards. 

Embarrassment burns within him at the idea of anyone catching him half wedged under his own door, stuck squirming helplessly like a worm caught on the sidewalk after a heavy rainfall. He lets out an angry squeak, determined now to at least make it fully into the hall, and with a last great, heaving push, the rest of him pops through to the other side. He slides across the floor a little way, stunned by his own display of strength. Perhaps he was not as weak as he first thought. 

Hanzo stands there for a moment, looking around and debating with himself where to go. He couldn’t get much purchase on these floors, so movement was incredibly slow and frustrating. But he needed to get to a place someone could find him. Help him. The med bay was much too far, he’d pass out in the hall from exhaustion before reaching it, and he was liable to get stepped on.

He frowns, or at least, he tries to. The edges of his long mouth tug down in the best approximation of a frown available to a dragon. He really was stuck here.  _ Unbelievable. _ It took him ten minutes to get through his own door and now, he had nowhere to go. Unless…

He turns to look at the door only a few feet from his across the hall. There was no way to tell if the cowboy was even in there, but he often spent time in his room, and if there was anyone excitable enough to go looking for help once he realized the situation, it was surely one Jesse McCree. 

The thought of sneaking into Jesse’s room had that feeling from earlier crawling its way back into his gut, and he tries his best to chase it away. He had to get help, and Jesse was simply the best option at the time. There was nothing to be done about it. With a huff, Hanzo readies himself and makes an entirely dignified skitter across the hall.

Pulling himself under the door and into the carpeted area of Jesse’s room is a much easier feat. Even in this dragon form, he seems to have better upper body strength than anything, which he could use to his advantage right about now. Looking up at Jesse’s mess of a bed is daunting in and of itself. He can’t tell what is blanket and what is old clothing, but he takes a guess and flings himself at a loose bit hanging down.

Whatever it may be, it doesn’t give way under the weight of his body, and he unsteadily tugs himself upwards. If his claws make puncture marks all the way up, he choses to ignore the holes, and perhaps Jesse would never notice them.

_ Okay. So he made it. Now what? _

Hanzo looks around the room from his new vantage point, painfully aware he’d never before been allowed or invited in. Not that he had asked, it just never came up. Perhaps Jesse didn’t want people in his room. Perhaps he was a private person when it came to his more personal effects. He certainly didn’t keep his room ready to receive company, Hanzo thinks, eying the garbage and tossed papers with a critical gaze.

The bed is comfortable though. Much softer than Hanzo’s, which is curious. What has Jesse done to his bed to make it feel more like a nest than anything? He spins once, twice, pushing the plush fabrics piled on top under his paws, kneading the softness with interest. He could stay up here, and wait for Jesse to return. It was cozy, warm, and smelled pleasantly like McCree - not that Hanzo would ever admit that. After a final spin, he wraps his long body up in one of the corners, and rests his head on his overlapping front paws. 

He’s asleep almost instantly. 

-

“Go sleep it off, Jesse. I am sure you’ll be fine!” Genji hollers down the hall, his voice carrying with ease. The mischievous hint in his tone not all at escaping McCree, who rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jesse calls over his shoulder, waving Genji off. The sparring match left him with a shiny new bruise on his stomach, and while he couldn’t be mad at Genji for giving it all he had, he still finds it within himself to be sour his friend couldn’t be assed to pull his punches just a  _ little _ . 

He slumps into his room dead tired, not even bothering to turn on a light, and immediately starts to strip. He sets his hat gently down on his desk, toes off his boots, and slings his serape over the top of a chair. His shirt and pants follow shortly (those end up on the floor in a heap) and soon he’s slipping into his bed. He manages to get one leg in before he’s aware something is off.

There’s a weight on his bed that shouldn’t be there. He nudges whatever it is with his foot, and when the weight persists, he grabs the edge of his blanket and flips it. There’s a resounding  _ thump _ and an indignant  _ squeak _ and some shuffling that has Jesse shouting and flying out of bed. 

“What in tarnation?” He asks the dark room, trying to figure out what he’d tossed. He shuffles across the carpet towards his light switch, unwilling to lift his feet and step on anything. When he flicks on his light, he can’t quite believe his eyes. There’s a small, long-bodied lizard on his floor. Its short legs are spread out wide like it’s trying to stabilize after the fall, or maybe it’s posturing and trying to make itself look bigger to scare Jesse off. 

Jesse takes a step closer, and the little thing has the gall to  _ hiss _ at him. He kneels down on the floor a good several feet away, approaching it much like one would a scared dog. This seems to work, and the lizard immediately relaxes. Well, perhaps lizard was the wrong word to use here. This creature very much wasn’t any lizard Jesse had ever seen growing up. In fact…

He reaches his hand out into the middle ground between them. “Well, hey there, lil’ fella. Didn’t mean to fling ya ‘cross the room like that. You okay?” He tries to reach forward to check for any sign of injury, and gets hissed at again for his efforts. “You one’a Hanzo’s? Real spitfire just like him, you gotta be.” He looks around for a towel or something to grab the  _ dragon _ in so he doesn’t get bit or scratched. There’s no way he’s going to explain to Hanzo how he managed to get a bite mark on his arm. He’d think he roughed his dragon up or something, and Jesse wasn’t like that. “Hanzo’s gonna be real mad you’re in here. I gotta grab ya so I can getcha back, okay? Jus’ stay still for me.” He stands up then, furrowing his brow before his eyes catch on his dusty red serape. “Aha!” He says, moving over and swiping it from the chair.

“Alrighty now, buddy. Let’s go.” 

The second Jesse starts to move towards the dragon with his serape in tow, it darts away. Well, it’s more of a hop-jump sort of movement, but either way he’s squirrely and difficult to get at. Jesse grumbles, trying to get himself between the dragon and whatever it’s aiming at, having absolutely no luck. Every time he gets a good grasp on the dragon’s body, it flings itself back to the ground and twists to try and get away. Missing or not, this dragon did NOT want to be returned to its master.  _ Well too bad _ , Jesse thinks.  _ I ain’t getting blamed for you getting lost! _

“C’mon now, lil’ fella. I’m not tryin’ to hurt’cha. Jus’...” He pulls the edges of his serape taut, bending down swiftly and scooping up the hissing mass into a bundle in his arms. He closes his serape, bringing the corners together and twirling the top of it to keep it secure, making a little pouch. Jesse holds his pouch away from his body now, seeing as how the dragon inside was kicking and hissing up a storm, imprints of its little paws and hind legs pressing into the sides of the serape every few moments until everything stills, though a very low, tired growling can be heard from inside.

With a sigh, Jesse gently sets the tied off bundle onto his bed and pulls on his shirt and pants, gets his boots on his feet, and after a second of looking at the bed to make sure nobody escaped, he grabs his hat off his desk and sticks that back on his head. At least he’s presentable. “So,” He says, looking down at the serape, picking it off the bed slowly so the dragon can get its footing inside easily. “We’re gonna go back now. Hope you had yer fun.” 

Jesse closes his door behind himself and knocks on Hanzo’s. 

He waits, tapping his foot. The hissing picks back up. “Hold your horses,” 

Another knock, then Jesse tries the handle. To his surprise, Hanzo’s door swings open. “Huh” Jesse mutters, taking a few hesitant steps into the other man’s room. Looking around, at first, offers no further information, and just as Jesse’s about to turn and leave, he notices the overturned glass and water stain on the floor. The window, which lets in a nice evening breeze, is wide open, and some papers on Hanzo’s desk have blown around the room, leaving it in a state of disarray completely out of character for the elder Shimada. Not to mention the pile of clothing left behind on the floor. Jesse frowns. “Your master’s not here, buddy.” 

He turns, shutting the door behind himself and makes his way down the hall into the common room at a brisk pace, doing his best to not jostle the dragon trapped in his serape. He spots the two people he had hoped to see, and smiles at them, waving to get their attention. Genji is fussing with some mechanical bit on his arm with tools much smaller than Jesse could ever hope to hold while Zenyatta watches curiously nearby. “Hey guys! Don’t mean to interrupt, but looks like we got a problem.”

Zenyatta turns to face him, tilting his head to the side and gesturing with one hand towards what Jesse held. “Does it have anything to do with the wriggling mass in your arms, perhaps?”

Jesse laughs when Genji whips his head up from his work, suddenly interested. “Uh, I think so.” He makes a face. “You uh, seen Hanzo around lately? Got somethin’ for him.” He lifts the bundle up gently. 

Genji shakes his head. “No, haven’t seen him since this morning. He left for his room. Did you check there?”

“Yeah, he’s not in there. Place is a wreck, too.”

Zenyatta nods at the bundle. “What do you have for Genji’s brother, if I may ask?”

Jesse lets out a breath and unties the corners of his serape. “Behave, please...” He opens  the fabric slowly, revealing the irritated face of a small dragon. “You gonna be good so I can help?” He asks, receiving only more of the stare. “If I gotta chase you down again, I ain’t gonna be happy ‘bout it.”

He shuffles closer and leans down for Zenyatta to see. “Found this lil guy on my bed when I laid down for a nap. Might’ve accidentally...tossed ‘im off. I’m assuming he’s one’a Hanzo’s,” He starts, turning to face Genji. “Since he looks just like that sharp tattoo yer brother’s got.” He frowns down at the dragon, who was, for the most part, acting civil. No hissing yet. “‘Sides the fact your brother’s gone missing, which, granted, he does that a lot, I’m worried.”

“Oh?” Zenyatta asks.

“Yeah, Hanzo’s got two of these dragons, don’t he? Why’s only one gone rogue? Think maybe he’s off lookin’ for ‘im?” 

Genji makes a noise somewhere between a hum and a click, shifting his body to get closer. “I admit, I’ve never seen his dragons like this before. The times I saw them, they were blue, electric. They weren’t solid.” He reaches forward to run a finger over the top of the dragon’s nose, but the dragon flinches and rears back. “I’m not sure how he even got separated from Hanzo in the first place, or his twin.” He looks to Zenyatta, then back to McCree. “I can look for Hanzo on the base.”

Jesse shakes his head. “No, no I’ll look for him. Either way, he’s sure to pop up ‘round dinner if I don’t run into him ‘fore then. Lemme know if you see him anywhere.” He excuses himself while the two talk amongst themselves, Genji going back to his work and Zenyatta back to watching him.

Jesse looks down at the still exposed dragon, who is blessedly no longer trying to escape. “Hanzo’s gonna kill me if you get hurt, so you’re stickin’ with me till we find him.” He stops halfway back to his room, considering. “You hungry?” A blank look in response. “Dunno if you even need to eat, but I know  _ I’m  _ hungry so we’re grabbing a snack. C’mon.” He turns on his heel and doubles back to the mess hall, intent on getting something in his stomach before setting out on a base-wide search.

-

When Jesse pulls Hanzo from the serape entirely, he’s startled. He doesn’t expect the warm hand curling around his soft belly and lifting him so gently. One of his claws gets stuck in the serape, which Jesse unhooks with great care. 

“Please don’t bite me, I’ll drop you.” Comes the great, rumbling warning from above his head. Hanzo has to crane his neck up to see Jesse, and this close, Hanzo’s able to pick out all the details of the man’s face. If he could blush in this form, Hanzo is sure his blue face would be lighting up purple. 

Jesse presses his arm up against his chest, settling Hanzo along the length of his flesh arm, his tail dangling off the side, all four legs clinging around the thick muscle. His arm hair tickles the underside of Hanzo’s belly, but for the most part he does his best to stay as still as possible. The floor looks a long, long way down, and he’d rather not find out how hard it is. Hanzo, overly aware of his long claws, keeps his grip loose, but even that doesn’t keep him from scratching Jesse every time he’s jostled just slightly. The fact that Jesse hasn’t yet grumbled at him for it he counts as a plus. Why Jesse didn’t put him on his metal arm, Hanzo doesn’t know, but he guesses it’s because he didn’t want to accidentally crush him.  _ How thoughtful.  _

They reach the kitchen without incident, the room empty at such an odd hour. 

“M’kay buddy, I’m setting ya down now. Don’t try and jump off, you’ll hurt yourself, okay?” He sets Hanzo on the counter gently, giving him a look while he ducks into the fridge, pulling out fixings for a sandwich. 

Hanzo lowers his body to the counter, tail swishing without meaning to behind him while he watches.  _ What an odd assortment of ingredients.  _

Jesse pulls off a chunk of the turkey slices and sets them on the counter in front of Hanzo’s blue snout. “Like this?”

The smell hits him first. The realization that he’s  _ starving _ hits him only a second later. Something about his change made him ravenous, and until he could smell food, he hadn’t even been aware. No wonder he feels so exhausted. He eyes the chunk of meat for a moment, his pride getting the better of him.  _ I will not eat off the counter like an animal. _ But this part of his doesn’t last too long, his hunger winning out in the end.

Once he’s sure he and Jesse are the only ones in here, Hanzo pushes himself back up and chomps down the meat insanely fast. It was good, but not nearly enough. He could eat the whole sandwich Jesse made, he is certain of it. He looks at Jesse expectantly. 

Jesse laughs and sets out some more slices, understanding the look he’d gotten, and then moves to grab a shallow bowl to fill it with cold water for Hanzo to wash everything down. He sets it on the counter next to the meat that is already nearly completely gone. Hanzo eyes the bowl, sticking his face in there and coming back up sneezing the water out of his nose. He tries again, his time more carefully, but he keeps getting the water in places it shouldn’t be. It’s infuriating.

When a hand comes into his field of view, he scoots back, confused. Jesse smiles at him encouragingly, then Hanzo looks at the hand more closely. He had some water cupped in his palm. He’s _ helping!  _ Hanzo lets out a pleased squeak before he can stop himself, which makes Jesse’s face just absolutely light up with glee. Hanzo ducks his head into Jesse’s hand to hide himself, having a much better time gulping down the water than he was before. The feeling from before comes fluttering back, but he stamps it down like he always has. 

Jesse pulls a few more chunks of turkey meat onto the counter and leans against it, eating his own meal while Hanzo picks at the rest of the offerings. It is terribly unbecoming, eating scraps like this, but his dignity be damned, he was hungry. After a moment he can’t take the shame any longer and backs off the last few pieces, huffing in disdain. He simply waits for Jesse to finish the last bite on his sandwich, staring at him all the while, which earns him another bright smile. 

“You bein’ good now that your tummy’s full, huh? Suits me just fine.” Jesse puts away the few things he had left out, cleaning off the counter once he’s done. “Can I pick ya up? We got some walkin’ ta do.” Hanzo bobs his head and Jesse snorts, draping his serape around his neck and shoulders. 

“Let’s go,” He says, scooping Hanzo from the counter just as gently as before, placing him back along his arm. Hanzo isn’t having any of that, however, very aware of the raised pinkish marks along Jesse’s arm already. An extended walk would make his claws into even more of a burden, so instead of simply being good cargo, he turns around as best he can in Jesse’s arms and clings to the side of the serape. “What in the-” Jesse starts, while Hanzo climbs all the way up to the man’s shoulder. Perched. 

“Is this necessary?” He asks, looking at Hanzo out the corner of his eye. Hanzo’s tail now runs down Jesse’s back, his claws only sinking into thick fabric, no longer Jesse’s skin. “You jus’ wanna be tall, is that it?” Jesse exits the kitchen slowly, making sure Hanzo has a good hold on him before walking at his full speed, long legs stretching out below him and boots clicking and jingling all the way down the hall.

  
  
  
  


It all passes in a bit of a rush for Hanzo, who quickly takes to wrapping himself across the wide span of Jesse’s shoulders, slung up in the folds of the warm, soft serape. Jesse occasionally reaches up to check and make sure Hanzo’s still there, settled, and the gentle touch of his fingers against his flank has him burying his head more. He hears voices floating around him, the steady stride of Jesse going from door to door, room to room, asking after him as if he wasn’t as close as he could be already. 

He wishes he could speak, communicate in some way. _It’s me, Jesse._ _It’s me! Please just look closely, you’ll know!_ But he can’t. His snout was useless at forming words, and his paws too small and awkward to hold a pen. He could perhaps pick something up in his mouth…

“...been gone. Nobody’s seen ‘im since this morning an’ this lil fella’s clearly his.” Whomever Jesse’s talking to hums thoughtfully. Hanzo lifts his head, coming face to face with Ana’s good eye peering closely at him. “Got any idea how he got out of his arm?”

Ana says nothing, just reaches forward to inspect, which Hanzo gratefully allows. Perhaps she could see beyond his appearance. Hanzo always felt like she knew far more than she ever let on. With two fingers, Ana tilts his head this way and that, running her fingertips over the ridges on his nose, through the soft fur of his mane, and down his back. He twitches, unsure how he feels with the touch, but if it would help...he’s willing to endure it. “Why is this one whole?” Is all she asks, and Hanzo instantly deflates. Ana does not take her eye off him. 

“Ya mean...not all glowy?”

Ana nods. “Yes, he is also very small.” This earns her a grumpy hiss. “These are supposed to be fierce, powerful spirits. Large and imposing, out for the kill. This one here is...none of these things. He was asleep when you walked up to me, much like a kitten warmed by sun. How curious.”

Jesse shrugs, disrupting his angry glare directed at Ana. “Dunno. Genji said it was weird when I showed him earlier, too. But...not like anyone else is missing a  _ dragon _ .”

Ana smiles, a quirk of her lips and a glint in her eye. “Besides you, of course.” She says, mirth clear when she turns around. “Go to bed, Jesse. I’m sure he will show up shortly.”

Jesse scuffs his foot on the floor. “I suppose…” He turns and scritches under Hanzo’s chin unthinking. “Let’s hit the hay, lil buddy. I’m ‘bout ready to pass out at this point.”

Hanzo couldn’t agree more. 

-

Jesse is surprised at the way the dragon calms down so easily. He was certain he’d have to be wrangling a wiggly monster for hours or trap him somewhere, but what he got was a tired, worn out pool noodle. With sharp ends. 

He sags down on his bed, shoving his boots and pants off all at once. His hat gets tossed on his desk from his position on the bed, nearly sliding right off, though Jesse wouldn’t have cared much to pick it up had it fallen.

“We’ll find your master tomorrow, bud. I’m jus’ tuckered out. Not gonna do either of us any good if I can’t keep my eyes open.” Jesse leans a little further down towards the covers, letting Hanzo just walk off his shoulders at his own pace. Once Hanzo is settled in the blankets, he removes his serape, placing it back on the chair, and pulls his shirt over his head again, leaving that on the floor with his pants, just like before. He turns to look at the dragon to make sure he hasn’t jumped off the bed or anything, only to find him staring at the wall like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Perhaps he saw a bug.

He slips his legs under the covers, no longer halted by a curled dragon body, and settles in for sleep by getting his pillow properly fluffed under his head and slipping his arms into the warmth of his nest of blankets. He can feel the golden eyes of the dragon on him, however, and he opens his own to meet the gaze. “You gonna sleep or you fittin’ ta stare at me all night?”

The dragon slowly lowers himself down, eyes still on Jesse but not so unblinking as they were before. “Well then, g’night bud. Try not ta get lost ‘fore mornin’.” 

Several minutes later, when he’s on the brink of sleep, he feels the dragon stand back up and spin around a few times, getting comfortable, then finally settling in a pile off to the side with a huff. Jesse can’t help but smile at that.


	2. Futility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my two wonderful friends and betas!
> 
> Apologies for this late chapter, I ended up moving about half way through writing it.  
> Hopefully it was worth the wait!

Jesse awakens to a warm lump pressed against his thigh. Said lump also happens to be purring. 

“Guess you were tuckered out from all the excitement yesterday, huh?” Jesse mumbles sleepily, pushing himself up on his elbows and running a hand through his bedhead. He looks at the curled dragon on his bed, half covered by some spare blankets and an old t-shirt he’d forgotten about at some point. The dragon’s little body rose and fell evenly with his sleeping breaths, and Jesse almost didn’t want to get up and disturb him.

However, as his stomach was quick to remind him, Jesse had slept in past his normal early breakfast. There is no way he’d be able to stay in bed much longer without consequences. “Alright,” he says, sitting up fully and reaching out to gently touch the dragon’s midsection. “Up an’ at ‘em, lil fella. Time for some grub!” He waits for one irritated golden eye to slide open and appraise him.

The dragon squints at him, lifting his elegant head only an inch off the comfortable pile of blankets, and tilts his head to the side. If Jesse didn’t know better, he’d guess this was a challenge.  _ Just wait and see what happens if you move your leg, human. _ Jesse shrugs off the icy stare and runs two fingers over the dragon’s head and onto his neck, trying to rouse him from sleep fully. Perhaps if he over-pet the dragon, he would get up of his own accord and allow Jesse to free his leg without a repeat of yesterday. 

It works as intended, almost too well. The dragon huffs and stands, curling his body off and away from Jesse, burying his face back in the blankets. Jesse swings his legs over the side of his bed, and shuffles around in his room for some clean clothes.

A quick shower couldn’t hurt if the dragon stays put. He hadn’t been much of a problem after the initial chase, and once he’d been fed, he mostly spent the rest of his time sleeping. Jesse grabs a towel hanging over the top of his closet door, watching the sleeping pile of scales and fur on his bed. 

_ Be good while I’m gone. _

-

Hanzo waits for Jesse to close the door behind himself fully before shooting up from the mattress. Going to Jesse for help was an obvious mistake, Hanzo recognizes this now. The cowboy was convinced Hanzo was simply one of his own spirits, not the missing man himself. How everyone else seemed to miss this glaring fact is beyond him, but Hanzo plans to rectify any mistakes he made yesterday in his panic. He’s had plenty of rest and time to think things over, and now he’s determined to make the most of what he could work with. 

His muzzle was no good for accurate communication, and his paws offered little in the way of grasping writing utensils. His options here are rather limited, but he can make do with enough careful planning.

He crawls over the mass of blankets to the edge of the bed, peering down at the floor. The fall is daunting in his current state, one wrong move and he could twist something out of place or severely injure himself otherwise.

His body is gangly and awkward, useful only if he wishes to escape the cowboy’s grasping hands by twisting himself about, but even that had failed. He sits there a moment, considering. Perhaps if he tried lowering himself down from the back? At least then his head wouldn’t be in danger of hitting the floor, and he had plenty of tail to cushion his fall should he mess up his landing. 

Hanzo slowly edges his tail over the side of the bed, his back feet gripping tightly to the sheets once his tail slides off fully. His front claws are sunk deeply into the fabric, tearing little holes into some spots, but Hanzo doesn’t imagine Jesse minding much, what with the state of his bed. 

He lets up on his grip a little, allowing more of his body down. He feels his tail touch the carpet, coiling around the lower he manages to get. Finally, once he’s stretched out as much as his form will allow, he feels his feet touch the carpet. He lets go and drops gently down the last foot or so.  _ Not too bad. _ He decides, proud of himself.

He scopes out the room, looking for anything that he could use to alert Jesse of his absence properly. There had to be something in this room he could use, or some combination of objects, like pictionary, he could arrange in a way Jesse could understand. The cowboy was by no means an idiot, oftentimes surprising Hanzo on the battlefield and in simulations with his quick thinking and excellent tactics, even occasionally getting Hanzo out of scrapes he’d otherwise be injured by. He knew Jesse could understand some symbolism.

If only finding the right objects were so easy, then this task wouldn’t feel impossible. Hanzo waddles around the room, inspecting things. The sound of the shower across the room is muffled by the door that Hanzo is only too thankful for. He doesn’t dwell on the imagery of Jesse showering, not at all, there is work to be done. Clearly.

The papers and mess on Jesse’s floor could be useful, his claws could rip key words out to make some cobbled sentences…

He finds the word ‘me’ in red letters from some interview, stepping on one end of the paper and using his claw to carefully rip it from the surrounding words. He leaves the ‘me’ where he found it, shuffling over to another pile, looking for ‘I’m’ or ‘It’s’ or something to that effect.

As he’s scanning the other papers, the shower turns off and Hanzo holds his breath. He only needs one more word!  _ Please, not yet! _ He thinks frantically, forcing himself to go through the page in front of him faster. Aha!

He spots the ‘it’s’ easily enough, a bold and underlined text of an ad. He cuts it out quickly, hearing Jesse in the bathroom shuffling around and likely getting dressed. At least, Hanzo hopes he’s getting dressed. He wouldn’t know what to do if faced with...well better not think of  _ that  _ right now.

The ‘it’s’ is freed in record time, Hanzo grabbing the piece in his mouth and nearly bouncing across the room to where he left the ‘me’. He’s almost at his destination when Jesse walks out, thankfully in a pair of jeans and a tshirt, still in the process of fully toweling off his hair. Hanzo wastes precious time staring, his teeth crunching his ‘it’s’ in his mouth. 

Jesse hasn’t seen him yet, his eyes going straight to the bed and adopting a worried expression once he realizes Hanzo isn’t there anymore. “Aw, hell, where’d he go this...time.” He trails off, finding Hanzo easily enough against his carpet. “What’cha got there in yer mouth, lil buddy?” He asks, setting his towel off to the side and slowly approaching Hanzo.

Hanzo turns away, his ‘me’ so close to him now, and scrambles towards it. 

Just as his paw touches the torn out word, he feels a warm hand coming to grasp him around his belly and he lurches upwards. The yell that is most definitely  _ not _ a squeak makes his paper fall gracefully to the floor.

“Enough foolin’ around now. Time for breakfast.” Jesse says, setting Hanzo down on his desk while he wraps his serape around his neck, even if he had no business wearing it to breakfast. Perhaps it was there just for Hanzo’s sake, since he took a liking to sitting in it yesterday. Despite his setback, the thought makes Hanzo warm. 

Once Jesse’s serape is secure, he tilts one shoulder down against the desk. “C’mon.” He urges, and Hanzo scrambles up his shoulders and into the serape easily enough. “There we go! Good job, buddy!” Jesse’s praise makes Hanzo feel even better, which is both silly and embarrassing, but hell, he’ll take what he can get.

  
  
  
  


When they arrive at the kitchenette, Hanzo spots Ana in the far back, reading something, Lena sitting and poking at her phone, and Genji with Zenyatta close by. Hanzo knows it’s silly, but he can’t bear for Genji to see him like this, so he buries himself further in the serape the closer Jesse gets to the group.

“Mornin’ folks,” Jesse greets, jostling Hanzo with his waving. 

“Hiya, love! Thought you'd not make it t’day. S’bit late, innit?” Lena greets cheerily. “Heard about what you found,” She gestures at Hanzo hanging limply in the folds of Jesse’s serape. 

Jesse chuckles. “Mmm, think everyone’s heard by now, ‘cept the one man who needs to know.” Hanzo can feel Jesse shake his head and pokes his face out to see better. “At least I ain’t fighting with him anymore, he just seems to be sleepy.” 

“Think maybe the critter’s so tired ‘cause he's cold? Y'know, Emily has some beardies back home. They need a good heat lamp and warm rocks to sun themselves on. Could be this guy’s chilly.”

Jesse lets Hanzo crawl off his shoulders onto the counter and moves to the fridge. “Dunno ‘bout that s’much. He's magic, ain't he? Think magic spirit lizards need heat?” Hanzo catches Jesse eyeing him seriously.  _ Magic spirit lizard! I will show  _ you  _ magic lizard, Jesse McCree! _

Lena looks down at her pancake, shrugging. “Perhaps not. Still couldn't hurt to try right? Maybe find him a nice lamp.”

“Yeah maybe,” Jesse concedes. “So, has anyone heard from Hanzo yet?” He asks, setting out torn lunch meat and another shallow bowl of fresh water in front of Hanzo’s face again.

Several heads pop up. “Didn’t see him at the practice range last night,” Lena supplies helpfully.

“He missed meditation this morning,” Genji says.

Zenyatta, who has been gently floating next to where Genji sits at the table, raises one finger. “That is not entirely unusual for your brother.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

Ana looks up from a tablet in her hands, setting her tea off to the side. “I have been here for a while now, and normally he will sneak in to grab something to eat and slip back out. I’ve not seen him either.” She stares at the counter for a long moment then turns back to her own business.

Jesse slumps into a seat with his breakfast. “Well hell, ain’t nobody seen him? Have we tried asking Athena?”

A smooth, robotic voice filters into the kitchen on cue. “You have not, Agent McCree.”

Jesse nearly spills the coffee he poured for himself, mumbling curse words under his breath. 

Lena beats him to the questioning. “‘ave you seen him ‘round the grounds, then?”

“He is on the grounds of the base, yes.”

Jesse frowns. “Well, I gotta give ‘im his dragon back, so where’s he at?”

“I...have been informed I am not at liberty to announce his location, unless in the case of emergency.” Athena says cooly, sounding a little too proud of herself, like she was in on something. Which was entirely ridiculous.

“Yer sayin’ one of Hanzo’s dragon’s bein’ missing ain’t an emergency?” Hanzo watches Jesse glare up at the ceiling, completely missing the speaker Athena’s voice came through. “He’s walkin’ around with half his….his...arsenal missin’, and you’re jus’  _ fine _ with that?” Jesse flings his left arm out in frustration, connecting with his coffee mug and making a little  _ tink  _ noise. He carefully moves his mug to the other side of his plate.

“Agent Hanzo Shimada is in no immediate danger, nor is he currently under threat.”

This seems to placate Jesse for the moment, and he eats in silence, brows drawn together. Hanzo finishes his pile of meat, moving to the water bowl. He manages far better than he did earlier, proud he doesn’t end up humiliating himself in front of everyone here. He only gets water in his nose once. He lowers himself to the counter, looking around and taking stock of the bits of filth in out of the way places, resolving to clean the kitchen better after he’s free from this mess. 

Jesse shifts in his seat, which draws Hanzo’s attention. “So, Athena,” 

“Yes?”

“Is Hanzo at least eatin’ right?”

Athena is silent for a long moment, and Hanzo remains where he’s at, watching. “He is remaining fed and hydrated, yes. He has also been getting plenty of rest as well, if you were worried.”

“Ain’t worried,” Jesse mutters, sipping his coffee. He sets his cup down, narrowing his eyes. “Ya said he’s been sleeping a lot?”

“That is correct.”

“That ain’t like him,” Jesse counters, frowning. He stands up from the table, collecting his dishes. “Hey Lena,” 

She turns her head. “Hm?”

“Can ya watch his dragon for a minute? Think I got an idea where Hanzo’s at.” Lena nods, turning her eyes on Hanzo and giving him a little smile while Jesse leaves.

She moves over to him, still looking as cheerful as ever. “Heard you caused a bit of a ruckus yesterday.” She sticks a finger out, pressing the side of it to Hanzo’s muzzle by his whiskers when he doesn’t flinch back and runs it up to his ears. It’s oddly soothing, the way she does it, so he allows her this. She gets both sides of his face twice, and by the end he’s no better than a puddle on the counter. 

Hanzo is barely aware of his brother and Zenyatta leaving the kitchen, Ana only popping her face into his line of sight to stare at him again before she leaves as well. Lena’s phone goes off with a soft chirp, making her entire face light up when she reads the message.

She shoves her phone in her pocket and reaches for Hanzo with both hands. He doesn’t want to end up scratching her arms, so he rears back, flattening himself against the wall and the counter, not sure what she’s trying to accomplish here. “Oh, c’mon then! Let’s go out to the common room, okay?” She manages to wedge her fingers under Hanzo’s belly, which causes him to squirm and hiss, trying to curl up entirely.

Lena backs off. “Why are you being like this? I’m just trying to pick you up.” She says, shifting her weight to one side. “If you don’t want to be moved, I get it. But I really want to take this call, alright? So...be a good dragon and just...sit here till Jesse gets back.” She wags her finger in front of his scrunched face, smiling down at him. “Be good!” She sing-songs on her way out the kitchen. 

Hanzo watches her leave, slowly unraveling himself. Having Jesse pick him up was one thing, but he had no way of knowing how other people were going to handle him, and he’d rather not deal with being carried around like a toy dog right now. 

He is alone in the kitchen, which means it’s a perfect time to think. He needs some way to tell people that he’s Hanzo, not one of his spirits, and that he wasn’t missing.  _ I’ve been right here! _

He moves slowly around the counter, reaching out with one clawed paw to poke at various things, inspecting them and dismissing them in the same motion. That is, until he comes across a bag of flour left out, presumably from the pancakes he’d seen people eating earlier. 

_ I can write in this! _

Hanzo makes a little squeak of joy, tail swishing. The bag is open, but as he soon finds out, it is too awkward to tip over with his short legs. Though, if he butts up against it just right and scoots it to the edge…

_ There! _

The bag careens over the edge, making a very satisfying  _ thump _ as it lands and poofs out flour in an arc around the opening. There’s plenty of flour to work with, he could do this!

Hanzo makes the slow and steady descent down the counter, much as he did this morning getting down from the bed. His tail hits first, curling under his body to cushion his fall, and he ends up half on the flour bag, sending even more of the powder out into the room. This was a mess, but, he reasons with himself, if it could help him in any way, he didn’t much mind having to clean this all up afterwards. 

There’s enough flour on the floor to dig his claws into, making neat little lines in their wake.  _ Perfect. Now to write my name… _

  
  
  
  


This is...easier said than done. Hanzo manages to get the first two strokes of an ‘H’ before he finds a flaw in his idea. Namely, that balancing on slippery flour, with only three stubby legs, while trying to write legibly and NOT completely ruin your efforts every time you have to put your foot down, is  _ incredibly difficult. _ He starts over on the ‘H’ three times, finally satisfied once he gets a passable letter and not a footprint covering half of it. 

Just as he’s about to start on the ‘a’, he hears the tell tale sound of jingling.  _ Shit, not again. _

-

Jesse rounds the corner to the kitchen, upset with Angela for refusing to tell him anything about Hanzo, even if he  _ knew  _ the archer was in her ward, somewhere. He had to be! That man doesn’t sleep for anything, the only way he’d be getting as much sleep as Athena mentioned is if he was ill, but Angie remained as stubborn as she ever was.

_ “Even if he  _ were _ a patient in my care, Jesse, I couldn’t just give this information to you. You know this.” _

_ “But Ang! Nobody’s seen hide nor hair of him since yesterday! It ain’t like him to just skip meals or training! I know he’s in here!” _

_ “Jesse, you’re causing a scene, please, I have work to do.” _

_ “Jus’ lemme see him. Then I’ll leave ya alone, promise!” _

_ “Jesse, he’s not here. I can’t tell you anything further. I know as much as you.” _

He knew she was keeping something from him. She had to be. But what?

Jesse expects to catch Lena cooing over the dragon when he returns, but...not what greets him in the least. Firstly, Lena is nowhere at all, and secondly,  _ what in the hell happened?? _

“What-” He looks down, flour strewn about every which way, paw prints and tail drag marks littering the floor, a bag torn open to the side, and then, in the middle of all the carnage, the demon himself. The dragon’s legs are splayed, like he’s been caught doing something bad -  _ which he has  _ \- and his head whips up so suddenly Jesse’s afraid he’s hurt himself. “How-”

The dragon hisses, puffing his little body up and bouncing on his feet, trying to scare Jesse away. He nods his head at the flour disaster then stares Jesse down.

Jesse has no idea what to make of this situation at all. He walks across the floor to the dragon, earning himself another hiss and more aggressive posturing, all of which he ignores, and bends to scoop up the monster before him.

The dragon scrambles back, looking distraught when Jesse stomps through his flour pile, and ends up going absolutely nowhere on the tile floor. It is already slippery, but with the flour added, Jesse can tell the dragon is having a hell of a time getting anywhere. He pauses, crouched down, and watches to see what the dragon will do.

His legs are still spread widely away from his body, trying to gain any sort of traction he can. His paws only slide across the tile, his entire long body wriggling back and forth, tail slipping through the flour and flicking it all over, his paws making odd patterns as they scramble for purchase to no avail. He hears an angry squeak and a chirp, sees the dragon struggling to get away from Jesse, but all he accomplishes is getting about a few inches from his starting position before Jesse takes pity on him and scoops him up effortlessly.

He’s absolutely covered in flour. Filthy from the tip of his nose to his tail, his otherwise brilliant scales and fur dulled and muted. “Got yerself in a right mess, didn’t ya?” Jesse rumbles, tucking the dragon’s wiggly body against his chest and covering him half with his serape to keep him from hurting himself in his struggle. “I’ll come back an’ wipe this all up once I’m done with you. But first,” Jesse says, rolling his eyes and turning back out the kitchen and down the hall. “We gotta get’cha cleaned up. Can’t deliver ya back t’ Hanzo in this sorry state.” 

The dragon stills immediately, going limp in his arms. Jesse clicks his tongue. “Now now, no need ta be overly dramatic. Ya did this to yourself.” He chuckles, thinking about the fight he’s about to walk into trying to wash this wiley thing. “You an’ your master sure are similar. Your twin like this too? All theatrics all hours of the day? No wonder Hanzo’s so tense, if he’s gotta deal with two of ya constantly.” The dragon remains limp, dangling over Jesse’s flesh arm, all the fight gone out of him. Jesse momentarily thinks that perhaps Lena was onto something about the heat lamps. Or maybe the dragon has just resigned himself to his fate. Either way, Jesse isn’t complaining.

-

  
  


Hanzo snorts flour out of his nose while Jesse rounds the corner to the closest communal washroom. He is about to suffer a great indignity, and he can’t even be petulant about it properly in his current state. He is sure to make displeased noises, little huffs and chitters with every step Jesse takes. 

“Here we are!” Jesse announces, voice echoing off the walls of the otherwise empty room. “Won’t take but a second ta get’cha all cleaned up.” He sets Hanzo down in a sink, which Hanzo is none too happy about, but he stays where he’s put for the moment. He knows he needs a wash, and he’s in no hurry to transfer yet more flour onto Jesse and his clothing. 

However, the idea of having Jesse wash him, the rough pads of his fingers running all up and down his body...it’s a bit much. He can admit that to himself. He swallows; wide, golden eyes staring up at the cowboy in apprehension. His belly is sensitive enough in this state, even when picked up in a casual manner, but this? He isn’t sure he can deal with it. He’d much rather be left with a shallow bucket and some time to swim about on his own. 

Before he has a chance to muse further, Jesse reaches over him to turn on the tap, cold water coming out in a rush and splashing along Hanzo’s lower half. Hanzo shoots up out the sink before he can even register what’s going on, claws scraping against the porcelain edge frantically and tail flipping wildly, splashing water all along Jesse’s shirt.

“Whoa!” Jesse shouts, scrambling to get a hold on a slippery Hanzo before he topples over the side of the sink. “Hold up, now.”

He slides through Jesse’s fingers several times in his frenzy, his mouth open as he tries to escape the onslaught. Cold water continues to pour out against Hanzo’s tail and he squirms in Jesse’s grip. 

Jesse finally gets a hold on him, one hand around his upper half, fingers threaded up around his front legs, and his other hand against his lower belly, by his hind legs. He still tries his best to wriggle away, uncomfortable now for reasons other than the freezing water on his back end. Everything is overwhelming. 

Hanzo lets out little pathetic noises of distress despite himself, his front legs clawing at nothing but thin air as Jesse pulls him up and away from the water.

“Stop ya bellyaching okay, I’m fixin’ the temperature!”

True to his word, after another few seconds the water warms up, Jesse lowering him back under the spray, and Hanzo stops with his fruitless escape attempt. He’s exhausted again. Energy seems to escape him so rapidly in this form, and it’s endlessly frustrating. He goes limp in Jesse’s hands, finding that preferable to holding himself upright and still for a proper washing. Perhaps if he looks and acts close to sleep, Jesse would take pity on him and go about his cleaning faster. 

_ No such luck. _

Jesse reveals himself to be a very thorough man, making sure to gently brush through Hanzo’s mane, getting all the particles of flour from the soft gold section by section until he’s satisfied. He tilts Hanzo’s body around under the water, letting the spray get up under the curves of his delicate scales, flushing away any stray bits he sees.

This is...soothing. Hanzo finds himself actually drifting off a few times before he catches himself. Jesse’s working on his tail now, rubbing his fingers back and forth against the tuft of fur on the end of his tail, working all the flour free. Hanzo cranes his neck back to watch him work, almost mesmerized by his movements. He catches Jesse mumbling something under his breath, something melodious, perhaps even a song, but it’s so faint he can’t be sure. 

Either way, he’s tired, dead tired. Hanzo decides to try his luck. He stares up at Jesse, blinking at him a few times, then rumbles out a questioning noise as best he can.

It does the trick, Jesse turning to look him in the eyes, a smile on his lips. “Hm? No more protests?” 

Hanzo blinks at him some more, and lets out another soft sound. 

“Ah, suppose you’re right. Pretty much clean as you’re gonna get.” He concedes, letting Hanzo’s lower end down into the sink so he can turn off the faucet.

He carries Hanzo over to a small cabinet, nudging it open and pulling down a fluffy towel from a shelf. He carefully drapes a corner of it over Hanzo, covering his head while he wraps the rest of it underneath him. Hanzo shakes his head, snout poking out the end, but he can’t quite get the rest from under it. He feels foolish.

“Whoops, sorry there, lil fella!” Jesse chuckles, pulling the rest of the towel away from Hanzo’s face and grinning down at him. “Reminded me of when I’d throw a blanket on my pup as a kid. Damned dog was too stupid t’ find his way out again, but I loved him all the same. You’re quite a bit smarter than m’ dog, though. Bit too smart, if ya ask me.” Hanzo gives him a look he’s not sure entirely translates on his new face, but it makes him feel better regardless.

“Gonna dry ya off, then I’ll take ya back into my room so you can sleep all this excitement off while I clean up that mess you made. Sound good?”

Hanzo nods his head a few times, in that bouncy way lizards do, which earns him a pleasantly deep rumble of a laugh from Jesse. He puffs up happily at the sound.

-

Jesse brings the dragon, still wrapped up in a towel, out into the common room. There he finds Ana, legs tucked up under her as she balances some tea against the arm of the chair. She’s holding the same tablet from earlier, apparently scrolling through a log of some sort.

“Howdy!” Jesse greets, holding out his dragon bundle as if presenting him. Ana looks up from her reading.

“Jesse,” She says. “What on earth has your dragon gotten himself into?” 

Jesse takes the seat next to her, spreading his knees and setting the pile on his lap to start drying off the dragon properly. “He managed to spill a bag a’ flour on the floor an’ get himself absolutely covered in the stuff. Dunno what he was hoping to accomplish.” He says accusingly, staring down at the little face poking out the towel. If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear the dragon looks guilty. “Pretty hilarious though, can’t really find it in me ta be mad at ‘im, even though I gotta go clean it up once I stick him back in my room.”

Ana hums, bringing her tea up for a sip. “Maybe he was trying to leave a message,” She says cryptically, eying Jesse over the rim of her cup. 

“Oh? Like what?” Jesse laughs, shaking his head and pauses his task of drying the dragon off. “Please,” He starts, his voice going comically high. “Don’t bring me back to my master! He’s so cranky all the time!” 

The dragon in his lap growls. Jesse looks down at him and eyes him for a second. “Enough with that, now. I was jus’ foolin’.” The dragon soon ceases his noise, closing his eyes like a spoiled pet the moment Jesse gets back to drying him off, his fingers pressing the towel against his mane and sides. His scales seem to be pretty water resistant, but Jesse has very little experience with lizards, let alone...mythical creatures, so he makes sure he’s got Hanzo’s dragon covered. No way is he getting blamed for a sick serpent. 

“Quite the personality on this one, no?” Ana comments after a moment, that tone still in her voice for reasons Jesse’s too afraid to ask. “You have any luck with your questioning this morning?”

Jesse shakes his head and unwraps the dragon from his towel cocoon, going for his paws next. “No. Thought Angie might know what’s going on with Hanzo, but,” He says, trying to press against the dragon’s flank to push him over so he could lift up each foot without getting the little guy unbalanced. With some prodding, he seems to understand and falls to his side, exposing his pale stomach. “She didn’t have any info for me. That, or she refused to tell me anythin’, which she’s done before.” He works the towel between the dragon’s toes, careful not to get his claws stuck in the material.

“Angela understands the situation. I do not think she would lie to you about the archer’s whereabouts had she known. We’re all aware of how upset this has made you.” Ana says, taking another sip of her tea and pointedly looking at her tablet.

Jesse can feel his cheeks warm and frowns. The dragon in his lap is purring. 

“It’s...it’s not like that.”

“You do not have to lie to me, habibi. I know how you feel about that man.” Jesse can feel Ana’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t dare look up. “It’s only been a day, give it time. And for now,” She reaches forward, hand outstretched to touch the dragon. “Care for this creature in his stead.” 

When her fingers connect with the dragon’s belly, he jumps, reacting violently. His little body twists as he jumps in the air, falling off Jesse’s lap in the process. Ana snaps her hand back, a sound of surprise coming from her lips. 

“ _ Shit,”  _ Jesse swears, standing up and dumping the towel on the ground. The dragon’s eyes are wide with panic, tail swishing in agitation. He’s letting out little whining squeaks, looking up at Jesse pleadingly. “I gotcha, I gotcha, don’t fret.”

He leans down, ready to scoop the dragon back into his arms, but the little guy beats him to it, darting forward and shooting up his pant leg faster than Jesse’s ever seen him move before. His claws dig into his legs at parts, and eventually he gets stuck around his hip. Jesse lets out a low whistle, shaking his head. “Yer a damn mess.” He says fondly, detaching the dragon from his clothing and cradling him in his arms.

He turns him so that his body is flush with his own, and this seems to calm the dragon down considerably, his claws scratching against his chest and stomach only a little. He can feel the erratic heartbeat against his chest, and he coos at the dragon in soothing tones, soft, nonsense words falling from his mouth. He strokes his hand down the dragon’s back gently, trying his best to ease him back from his panic. 

Jesse gives Ana a guilty smile when she hands him the towel. “Sorry ‘bout all the fuss. I’ll letcha get back to your reading. This one’s had enough for today, I think.”

He doesn’t stop petting his dragon even once he leaves and makes his way down the hall to his room. 

  
  
  
  


“There ya are, bud. Safe and sound.” Jesse deposits the dragon onto his bed, watching him crawl over to his claimed spot in the corner. 

“Comfy?” He asks once the dragon spins a few times, feet pressing the blankets down to make way. “You're gonna be spoiled to high heaven by the time we getcha back to Hanzo.” He mutters, shaking his head. The dragon peers at Jesse from his nest. “Go on ahead and get some shut eye. I'll collect ya when it's time for dinner.” He offers a little wave as he leaves, shutting the door behind him softly.


	3. Talk It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this marks the last of the regular chapters!  
> Thanks so much for all the support!
> 
> This chapter is pretty Jesse-centric.
> 
> Epilogue to follow shortly.

“Jesse,” Ana murmurs, thumbing through some information on her tablet. “Sitting here fussing will do you no good.” She looks up at him from her spot on one of the armchairs.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, it’s just…” Jesse swipes a hand through his hair, his fingers getting tangled a little from the lack of attention he’s been giving himself lately. “Now Athena won’t even give me updates. She jus’ keeps saying,” He picks up his hands, making air quotes and turning his voice more robotic. “Status Unchanged.”

A soft voice picks up from one of the nearby speakers. “Agent McCree, I don’t believe I sound anything like that.”

Jesse clicks his tongue. “Yeah well, maybe if ya’d give me somethin’ more ta work on I wouldn’t even _be here_ to make fun of you.” He feels Ana’s glare on him before he even looks up. “Goodnaturedly, a’course. Ma’am.”

Athena did not grace him with a response. Typical! Jesse closes his eyes, absently putting his hand on the dragon curled and happily asleep in his lap. He never purred in public, somehow able to sense of anyone else was in the room, but that didn’t bother Jesse much. He felt special that after over a week of these nonsense, the dragon would really only relax around him. At least _someone_ appreciates him.

A gentle _clink_ of metal feet entering the common room had Jesse nearly shooting up from his chair in excitement. His eyes fly open and a large grin starts to form on his face before quickly turning into a frown at what he saw. Or rather, who.

“Don’t act so happy to see me, Jesse.” Genji says, chuckling, with Zenyatta floating serenely close behind.

“Don’t be gettin’ my hopes up, then.” Jesse grumbles, sinking back into the chair and softening the ruffled fur of his dragon, who’d been disturbed.

Genji tsks, shaking his head, and makes his way over to Jesse’s chair. “Still no word?” He asks, tone a little softer, private. Zenyatta moves over to Ana by her table, floating down to sit on a pillow placed on the floor.

“Nothin’, suppose you ain’t heard anything either?”

Genji hangs his head. “No. As sad as it is, Jesse, this isn’t exactly unlike my brother to go missing for this long.”

The dragon growls lowly, head coming up to stare at Genji with a sour look. Jesse just keeps patting him. “He normally leave without a note a’some kind?” He scritches his fingers through the dragon’s golden mane, earning himself a calm stretch from the creature.

“If he did, I was never the one to find the notes.” Genji said with a hint of sadness, moving to go sit on the floor pillows along with Zenyatta.

Jesse looks down at his dragon, who stares back up at him with sad eyes. “Somethin’ set him off, maybe?”

“There was hardly any reason for Hanzo to leave. He stopped doing so after...after father died...because he had eyes on him constantly.” Genji says.

Zenyatta hums, turning his face towards Jesse now, tho he addresses Genji. “If I may...up until recently, Hanzo has been wandering the world, correct?”

Genji shrugs. “I suppose.”

“Then perhaps,” Zenyatta continues. “Being held up in a facility altogether unfamiliar to him with many people he does not know or wish to face daily was simply too much for your brother to handle. He might have needed a break.”

“No,” Jesse says, frowning. “Athena said he was still on the base. But we’ve looked everywhere and he ain’t showed up yet. Not even on the cameras, ‘cause believe you me, I sure as hell looked through all the footage I could get my hands on! Now unless our dear Athena here is _lyin’_ , I don’t believe Hanzo would just... _abandon_ everything here.”

“I was not lying to you when I informed you of the whereabouts of Agent Hanzo Shimada.” Athena’s voice confirmed. “I am just not at liberty to reveal his exact location.”

Jesse grabs the dragon in his lap, who squirms to try and right himself in Jesse’s arms as Jesse shoots out of his chair, mouth turned down into a snarl. “Enough!” He points angrily at the speaker in the ceiling. “We could have some sort of emergency _any day now_ an’ we’d be needin’ Hanzo for a mission, and he’d be nowhere we could reach! We’d be out a whole man, an’ with how slow this recall is comin’ along, we need everybody we can get.”

“In the event of an emergency that would require deployment of Agent Hanzo Shimada, his location would be revealed and his status updated appropriately.”

“With all due respect ma’am,” Jesse starts, earning himself another glare from Ana, who had otherwise been keeping to herself. “I don’t believe that horseshit fer a minute. You’re keepin’ something from me, from all of us, and I wanna know what exactly it is. I won’t work with no one else on the field, so until you get Hanzo back here, you can count me out from any missions!” The dragon clings to his shoulder a little tighter at that admission.

Ana huffs and sets her tablet down in her lap. “Jesse, you need to calm down.” she says evenly, as if she hadn’t just heard his outburst. Perhaps she ignored it.

Jesse opens his mouth, likely to say something smart, but Genji skillfully saves him from himself.

“Ah, Jesse!”

Jesse turns and bites out a harsh, “What?”

“Our dragons are connected to us in a way I still do not fully understand. I doubt I ever will. But that dragon you have there, he might be able to find Hanzo if you give him a chance.” Genji pauses, but Jesse just keeps on with his sour look. “I fully believe my dragon saved me when I was on the brink of death, she must have come to my aid to sustain me. Hanzo’s dragons should be able to sense him if they are ever parted.”

“A wonderful idea, Genji.” Zenyatta agrees, somehow making his faceplate look pleased.

Ana turns to Jesse. “Have you tried that yet? Sounds like it could work.”

Jesse stands there, looking between the three of them, his anger melting away and shame creeping up to replace it. “I...no, I haven’t.” He admits, looking down at the hind end of the dragon still clinging to his shoulder. “How would I...do this?”

“Maybe bring him back to Hanzo’s room?” Ana offers, tilting her head and picking her tablet back up. “Something in there might trigger his memory or perhaps he could catch a scent…”

_Oh!_

Jesse perks up immediately, emotional state doing a complete flip for the positive. He beams at the three sitting there, all teeth. “You guys are geniuses! I know what ta do!” He exclaims, turning to leave. “An’ Athena, sorry I yelled at you!” He says on his way out.

“Apology accepted, Agent McCree.”

Jesse dashes out of the common room in his excitement, the dragon held firmly against his chest. Of course, why didn’t he think of this before? How could he pass over this obvious solution when it was sitting there the whole time? “We’re gonna find yer master,” Jesse murmurs down at his dragon, who is watching him with those bright eyes. “I got a fail proof plan, jus’ you wait an’ see.”

He rounds into the hall, aiming straight for Hanzo’s door. The dragon seems to perk up at that, which has Jesse’s pulse racing even faster. If the dragon recognized Hanzo’s door, he _had_ to be able to do this!

He swings the door open with little resistance, hit with the scent of a stale room when he walks in. “Okay so, should be…” He looks down, spotting the pile of clothing on the floor right where he left it. Right where _Hanzo_ left it. “Okay buddy, yer gonna have t’work with me here, but I’ve seen this work in movies, so I figure it’s gotta have some basis in real life, right?” The dragon only swishes his tail back and forth in disinterest in Jesse’s babbling.

He leans down, carefully placing the dragon on the pile of clothing. Tiny arms jut out to the side of the long body and the dragon starts to wiggle, resisting. Jesse huffs and drops him the last few inches, watching as he kinda stands there, pillowed on all sides by Hanzo’s clothes. The dragon whips his head around to glare at Jesse in an alarmingly familiar manner, but he shrugs it off.

“Go on, get a good whiff, bud. You can track ‘im down. You’re like, connected right?”

The dragon stands there defiantly in the pile for a few tense moments that have Jesse holding his breath. Then, after apparently deciding to cooperate, he tilts his head down and buries his muzzle in the pile. Jesse can hear him huff a few times, which he takes as a good sign, before the dragon springs out of the clothes and jumps back onto the carpet.

Jesse steps back to give the little guy some room, maybe he needed to sniff after the trail or something.

The dragon moves to the door faster than Jesse’s seen him move so far. “You got something?” He asks, hopeful. The dragon makes his way to the door, stopping to scratch at the corner of it. “Got it, one sec, buddy.” Jesse goes around the small body, unlocking the door and swinging it open once the dragon moves out of the way. “Go on!” He encourages, watching as the dragon skitters out into the hall and stops about a foot outside the door.

Jesse watches curiously, the dragon’s head bobbing up and down a few times, before he pierces Jesse with a stare that could kill. The dragon turns back towards Hanzo’s room with an air of irritation, crawling over the carpet and directly back into the clothing pile. He bobs his head again at Jesse’s confused expression before lowering himself into the clothes fully, almost disappearing. Jesse can still make out the golden eyes peering at him, however.

All at once, Jesse’s demeanor shifts. He sags against the wall by the door, the frown back in place and all excitement drained from his body. “I know, buddy.” He says, sadly eying the dragon as he nears it. He drops himself to his knees gently, scooping up the dragon carefully and placing him against his chest and shoulder once again. “I miss him, too. I’m sorry.” He stands up slowly, pressing one hand against his leg to push himself up, and leaves Hanzo’s room behind, making way for his own.

\---

Hanzo sits primly on Jesse’s desk, one paw near his mouth so he can rip off the outer covering of a claw he’d gotten stuck in something earlier. Maintenence like this is becoming routine for him now, surprisingly. He had no mind to stay this way, of course not, but for the time he was to be doomed to this form, he might as well look the part.

He watches Jesse slump about his own room, driven to sadness from his latest ‘failure’ at locating Hanzo. The cowboy seems to be rummaging for something or another, letting out a grumble each time a drawer he pulls out or a box he overturns comes up short. Some of his curses come out in Spanish, which Hanzo has come to know as Jesse’s frustrated language of choice. Though most of his words are lost on him, Hanzo can appreciate the deeper sound and the warm rumble, even if his tone is fraught with tension.

Jesse drops to his knees heavily beside his bed, one hand up on the top to steady himself, the other reaching underneath the frame. Hanzo tries to see what Jesse’s reaching for, as the last time he’d been wandering around the dark space he’d only seen a few nicknacks and boxes with who knows what shoved inside. “Aha!” Jesse announces triumphantly, holding his spoils up high. Hanzo notes with a little bit of distaste and a little bit of jealousy that Jesse’s currently cradling a bottle of what looks to be very strong whiskey in his arms.

Perhaps it’s for the best Hanzo’s not had time or ability to get drunk…

“Only bring this one out on special occasions,” Jesse tells Hanzo conspiratorially, whispering down at him as he flops himself into his desk chair. “Figure as how I’m managing to fuck up spectacularly lately, might as well break out the good shit!” Jesse chuckles to himself in a way that seems to pain him, his usually cheery smile melting into a frown and a faraway look coming over his features.

He stares at his desk for a long moment, finally hefting himself forward and snagging the edge of a thick glass shoved against the wall, bringing it forward. Hanzo narrows his eyes, not really liking what Jesse is starting. He places his preened paw back down on the desk and watches. “S’pose there’s not a whole lotta do now. Hanzo don’t wanna be found, an’ that’s jus’...fine by me.”

He twists the top off his bottle, letting the short neck of it rest against the rim of the glass as he pours himself a bit more than the recommended amount. He downs this first glass with a quick motion and goes to pour himself another immediately after. Hanzo makes a little noise and crawls closer to him, unsure. If this is the pace he’s setting himself, Hanzo isn’t sure he’ll make it to his bed.

Jesse lets out a sigh, watching as Hanzo advances across the desk. He holds out his left hand towards him, letting Hanzo bump the side of his head into his fingers in a sudden surge of affection and worry. “Don’t you worry, lil buddy, I ain’t gonna get mean or nothin’.” His mouth twists and he downs another half of his glass, refilling it again.

“See, what I ain’t got wrapped ‘round my brain is, how the hell’s Hanzo justifying leavin’ everything behind like this? _Everyone_. I don’t get it! He left everything here, left his clothes, his fancy Stormbow, his brother, his dragon,” Jesse gently strokes along the side of Hanzo’s face and whiskers with the tips of his fingers, his voice lowering to a whisper. “Left me, too. Why’d he go an’ do that without saying goodbye, huh?” Jesse’s eyes are still a little unfocused, the cowboy apparently deep in his own mind. He takes another drink from his glass, going through the whiskey like shots, and it troubles Hanzo greatly. He knows Jesse has been upset about his sudden...departure...but he never suspected to this extent. He moves a little closer to Jesse, eying him carefully.

Jesse furrows his brows, idly continuing to stroke up and down Hanzo’s muzzle while staring at nothing. “Think maybe he left ‘cause’a somethin’ I did?” Hanzo freezes, staring up at Jesse. He couldn’t remember in exact detail their last proper conversation, but surely it was nothing that would let Jesse believe he’d somehow wronged him, right?

“I mean, I thought we were friends. We had a good thing goin’, y’know?” Jesse looks down at Hanzo, studying him.

How Hanzo wishes he could talk. _Yes! We are friends! I greatly enjoy our time together!_ , but he lets out a squeak instead.

“The training sims were going real great, an’ the one mission we had together went off without a hitch. Think we could’ve been a great team.”

Hanzo squeaks again. _We_ are _a great team, Jesse McCree! If only you’d open your eyes!_

“Mighty talkative tonight, ain’t’cha?” Jesse asks him and he grumbles. “Well at least I ain’t talking to myself like usual. Nice ta have someone to spill yer problems to.” He looks at Hanzo a moment. “For what it’s worth, I guess.” He shrugs and sips at his drink, his movement not yet unstable but nowhere near as steady as usual. The alcohol must be kicking in now.

Hanzo scoots closer, letting Jesse idly pet him as he continues. “I’m thinkin’ it’s my fault. I pushed him away.”

At that, Hanzo tilts his head and eyes Jesse, not understanding. When would he have…?

“I prolly came on too strong. He’s a smart one, no doubt he’d’ve figured out I wasn’t jus’ asking him to train with me.” He finishes his glass, not pouring himself another. “Think maybe he’s more...traditional? What’s the protocol on askin’ an ex-Yakuza out, hm? Should I’ve given him a gift? Dragons like gifts, right?” He quirks his lip up, scratching under Hanzo’s chin. “Yer all spoiled, look at’cha. He like being spoiled, too?”

Hanzo purrs without realizing, very content with the attention. Only when Jesse’s words truly sink in does he freeze. _So that was their last conversation._ Jesse is correct, Hanzo knew immediately he was being asked out on a date of sorts, merely giving Jesse a non-answer before he left and sought out counsel with Zenyatta to quiet his restless mind. But then…

Jesse twists the cap back on his whiskey lazily, his actions slowed by the liquor in his system. Any other person would be slumped over the desk, but, Hanzo supposes, Jesse is not exactly typical. His cowboy motif aside.

“Guessin’ that rightly don’t matter much now, do it, buddy? If he’s good an’ gone, I blew my chance.” He sighs, pushing the glass and the bottle against the wall and scooting Hanzo closer to his chest. He stretches out his good arm, bending over the desk to lean his head against it. Hanzo can practically _feel_ the sadness seeping from him.

“Serves me right thinkin’ I could deserve someone like him after all the shit I’ve done.” Jesse says, his eyes closed. Hanzo puffs up. _Don’t you dare think ill of yourself, Jesse McCree! You’ve been nothing but kind to me since I arrived, despite what atrocities I committed in my past. That is more than can be said for anyone else here!_ Hanzo stalks closer to Jesse’s face, stepping around his metal arm and tucking himself in the space between his shoulder and his neck.

Jesse ignores him and continues. “Shouldn’t bother with all that at my age, anyhow…” He mumbles out, and Hanzo’s had enough. He leans forward and presses his muzzle against Jesse’s scruffy cheek. Jesse murmurs something incomprehensible and Hanzo steels himself for what he’s about to do, albeit in a manner entirely different than how he first imagined it.

He opens his muzzle and sticks out his long tongue, licking a short line up Jesse’s cheek. His tongue is a little rough, and the texture of that against Jesse’s beard stubble isn’t entirely pleasant, but the intent behind the action is there.

Jesse lets out a soft noise and lifts his head from Hanzo to look at him. His honey-brown eyes are sad, a deepness in them that Hanzo doesn’t want to contemplate if it was indeed caused in some part by himself. Jesse blinks at him a few times and swallows heavily, bringing his arm back to scoop Hanzo up. “Let’s jus’...get ta bed, buddy.” He says, standing from the chair a little loosely.

 

Courtesy of [badsleeptwins](https://badsleeptwins.tumblr.com/)!

Hanzo allows himself to be moved around and set on the bed while Jesse shucks off his pants and accessories. He stays in his soft t-shirt and his boxers at least, which Hanzo is thankful for. Jesse doesn’t always sleep modestly.

“Scootch on over,” He says, lifting the covers and sliding in once Hanzo moves out of the way. “I cleaned yer little nest last night. Should be nice an’ cozy for ya.” Hanzo turns to where Jesse is pointing, noting with a warm feeling that the blankets and old shirts he’d been using as a bed where indeed clean and ready for sleeping. But he had other plans for tonight. He could not offer comfort in the way he wishes he could, but contact had a way of calming people.

Hanzo waits for Jesse to get settled under his blankets, shifting this way and that, before his arms come up to rest on his soft stomach. Then, Hanzo crawls over him, being careful not to step on anything too harshly, and sits himself on Jesse’s chest.

The cowboy blinks open his eyes, watching Hanzo with confusion that quickly grows into something watery and grateful. His voice breaks just the tiniest amount when he reaches up to pet down Hanzo’s spine. “Thanks, bud. I ‘preciate the company.” Hanzo only spins once before getting comfortable. “Night…”

 

 

 

He can hear birds chirping from somewhere, though the morning light hadn’t quite reached the windows just yet. He yawns, stretching the sleep from his body and brings a hand to rub down his face.

His _face_.

Hanzo nearly flings himself from the bed in his excitement. He cautiously touches his chest and runs a hand down his arm, testing, hoping beyond hope that everything is as it seems, and not some cruel trick of his sleep-addled mind. He grins, feeling his lips move correctly for the first time in weeks!

“Jesse!” Hanzo pushes against Jesse’s curled body, facing away from him. “Jesse, wake up!”

Jesse, to his credit, only stays bleary-eyed and foggy for a second before his brows shoot up into his hair. “ _Hanzo?_ ” He stage whispers, reaching out without thinking and pressing a large, warm hand against Hanzo’s shoulder. “You’re here! You’re back!” He says, his voice just as crackly and broken as the night before. The sound weighs heavy in Hanzo’s gut.

“Yes, I am here.” He agrees, smiling down at Jesse who’s looking like he’s watching the most glorious sunrise he’s ever seen in his life. Perhaps he is.

“Hanzo...where’ve ya been? We looked everywhere for you! We’ve all been worried sick!” He pauses, looking down and removing his hand. “I’ve been worried sick.” He admits softly, embarrassed. “Thought you up an’ left me.”

“Oh Jesse, no…” Hanzo starts, before a fresh streak of panic crosses Jesse’s face.

“Shit, fuck, yer dragon!”

“What-”

“Where is he? He’s gone! Did ya sleep on ‘im?” Jesse sits up frantically, flipping back the covers and spreading his hands out under them until he comes into contact with Hanzo’s bare thigh. He stops his search and pulls his hands from under the covers slowly. “Er...Hanzo,” He starts, face blooming pink. “You’re naked.”

“Oh.”

“Yer naked an’ your dragon’s gone.” He says again, slowly.

“Jesse,”

“You’re _naked_ , an’ your dragon’s _gone_ , and you’re gonna kill me _while you’re naked!_ ” Jesse pulls his legs up closer to himself, about to swing out of the bed before Hanzo’s words stop his retreat.

“ _Jesse._ ” He says firmly, smiling despite himself. “I am not going to kill you. You’ve lost nothing.”

“But your dragon-”

“Jesse, the dragon is not lost. _I was the dragon!_ That was _me!_ ” He presses his hand to his chest for emphasis, not letting Jesse break eye contact.

“But how-”

“I don’t know,” Hanzo interrupts, not wanting to play this back and forth. “One minute I was in my room. I felt a bit dizzy, then the next...I was small. And suspiciously lizard shaped.” He shakes his head. “I tried to tell everyone, but my efforts were...poorly done.”

The pink on Jesse’s cheeks drains away into a pale, stricken look. He laughs to himself in an embarrassed manner. “So,” He starts, letting his feet drop to the ground as he tries to escape, talking slowly. “I’m guessin’ it’s safe ta assume you remember...everything?” He stands up, the blankets falling away from his body and pooling in the bed. He’s facing away from Hanzo now.

“Yes.”

Jesse nods, running a hand through his hair and bringing it down to rubs across the back of his neck. “Oh. Okay,” He starts to move from the bed entirely, but is stopped by a hand on his other wrist.

“Jesse,” Hanzo starts, voice soft and patient. He waits for Jesse to turn around before continuing. “I missed you, too."


	4. The Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to all of you for all the support and comments and kudos received throughout this story! I really appreciate all of you guys so much for being there with me during my first multi-chapter fic. Thanks!!

Jesse just about melts at Hanzo’s words, all the tension from the past weeks draining from him in an instant. The man’s fingers feel hot on his skin, and he wants nothing more than to climb back into bed and hold him close, keep him pressed against his chest. However, there’s one thing that needs to be addressed first. 

Turning ever so slightly, Jesse chances a look at Hanzo. He’s not sure what he expects, really. The dragon again perhaps. He’d gotten so used to having the blue noodle of a lizard following him around these past several days that the lack of him on his bed seems wrong somehow. Hanzo sits there instead, the blankets bunched up around his waist and his hair loose against his shoulders. He’s got a very small, yet sincere, smile on his face, and he’s looking right at Jesse patiently. Jesse swallows.

“Listen, Han,” He starts, only pausing when Hanzo holds himself up a little straighter in the bed, making it a point to look like he’s paying attention. Except... _ Jesse _ can’t even pay attention. Not with the way some of Hanzo’s hip is bared now to the room. His face burns and he swivels back around, heading towards his door. “Uh, look I wanna talk ‘bout this, but yer naked still an’ I can’t really have this heart-to-heart with ya lookin’ like ya do.” He gestures at his door with his thumb, only sparing a quick glance at Hanzo, who has slunk back down into the sheets, as if just now becoming aware of his actual state. “Lemme just-”

“That would be wise, thank you.” Hanzo interrupts, nodding and looking away, his cheeks also a bit pink. What a pair they were, huh? 

Jesse crosses the hall and makes his way back into Hanzo’s room, about to pick up his clothes piled on the floor, but thinks better of it after considering how long they’ve been there.  _ Well, guess I gotta rummage through the man’s drawers. _ He sighs, stepping around the mess on the floor and opening Hanzo’s dresser.

Top drawer contains mostly files, old papers, a few tablets that had gone missing weeks back that Jesse has a bit of a laugh over, but nothing in the way of clothing. Okay, next! The second drawer is filled tightly with undershirts of all styles, mostly in blacks, greys, dark blues, and whites. Jesse pulls a thin v-neck out of the folded up bundle and sets it on top of the dresser for safe keeping. 

Third drawer houses all of Hanzo’s undergarments and socks of varying lengths. Some of those are thicker than standard, and Jesse guesses Hanzo uses those under his metal boots. There’s a few pairs in there that look suspiciously colorful, but Jesse just pulls out a pair of short black ones.  _ Alright, halfway there. _ He moves to the other side of the drawer, frowning when he only spots three rows of folded grey boxer briefs. Amazing variety here. Jesse looks down at his own brightly printed boxers, trying to imagine Hanzo wearing something similar and coming up short. Maybe not. He pulls out a pair and adds it to the pile. 

Unfortunately for Jesse, Hanzo kept no leisure pants in his dresser, so he’s forced to move to Hanzo’s closet. The second he opens it, he has to take a moment to stop and stare in wide-eyed amazement. “What the hell…” He wonders, turning to check behind himself like he’s wary of being caught looking at something he shouldn’t. That might just be the case here…

Inside Hanzo’s closet, there’s the usual clothing, of course. Several workout outfits, t-shirts and pants, and his normal mission gear, but the other half of his closet is filled with  _ stacks _ of boxes, all the way up to the closest ceiling. That in itself isn’t the surprising part. What’s in those boxes has Jesse blinking owlishly at the sight before him. Peaking out of each box are various western themed novels, old copies of western movies - some, Jesse notes, are collectables - rolled up posters of famous renditions of Hollywood cowboys, and several framed copies of signed photographs. 

Jesse gently reaches forward with his flesh hand, not trusting his prosthetic with such delicate things, and pulls free one of the picture frames. Inside the nice wooden frame sits a vibrantly colored photo of Clint Eastwood. Jesse recognizes the outfit, but he cannot place the movie this promotional shot is from. Forgotten are the pants he’s looking for, his curiosity driving him to pull a few more things down and look at them, a strange sort of grin growing wider and wider on his face the more things he retrieves from Hanzo’s closet.

On the very top shelf, slightly out of Jesse’s reach, sits a stack of what look like magazines piled on top one another. Jesse sticks his tongue out, stretching out and on the tips of his toes, fingers brushing an edge before he gets a firm grip on the bottom one. He realizes his mistake only  _ after _ the entire pile comes falling out and scattering across the floor around him. When he looks down, the sly grin on his face instantly falls away, replaced with the fiercest blush he’s had in years.  “ _ Dios mío... _ ” He whispers in shock, frozen in place for a second.

Once he gets his wits about him, he looks at the door quickly, shame and embarrassment filling him. He shouldn’t have gone into Hanzo’s things. He should have just grabbed him some pants and left. Shouldn’t have gone poking. Shouldn’t have... _ shouldn’t have! _

Jesse scrambles to pick the magazines off the floor, stacking them neatly and shoving them back on the top shelf. Anything else he had pulled out also goes back in its rightful spot. He pauses only to grab a pair of sweats and closes the closet with a little more force than necessary. 

He picks up the rest of the clothing from the dresser and makes a swift exit, not trying to linger in Hanzo’s private space longer than he has to.

In front of his own door, he tries to school his face into his usual cheer, doing a pretty decent job of it, even if his blush wasn’t going to totally disappear anytime soon. He could write it off as having to dig through Hanzo’s underwear. That’s a good enough excuse, right?

Hanzo’s where he left him, though now he’s got one of Jesse’s tablets in his hands and he’s in the middle of a conversation with Athena, apparently. 

“-just saying, if you had alerted everyone of my situation, a lot of trouble could have been avoided.” Hanzo taps at something and looks up when Jesse walks in.

Athena’s soft tones filter into the room. “I was not under liberty to disclose that information. As there was no harm-”

“No harm? Athena, forgive me, but wouldn’t you say my body  _ transforming _ into something else entirely was harmful?”

“Your vital signs were perfectly normal, I assure-”

Hanzo swings a hand out, pointing at Jesse. “Back me up here, please! I was under stress, emotional trauma counts as harm!”

Jesse, the bundle of clothing still in his arms, just sways a little. “Uh,” He says dumbly, caught off guard. Hanzo seems agitated, and really, it was best to avoid him like this. If you valued your health and well-being, that is. Which...Jesse certainly did. Normally.

“Agent Shimada, I was told the effects were only temporary. I ran constant diagnostics while you were changed, and you only really suffered extreme distress immediately following the initial process.”

Hanzo puts the tablet down over his lap, frowning. “You were told this by whom?”

Athena is quiet for a moment, which Jesse takes as a good time to hand Hanzo his clothes. Hanzo nods his thanks, smiling at Jesse so warmly the guilt from digging into his stuff wells back up tenfold. Jesse’s about to leave to give Hanzo privacy to dress, but he’s stopped by a lifted finger. Hanzo tilts his head to the side, waiting for a response from the AI.

“I cannot disclose that information until you and Agent McCree have a discussion.” Hanzo frowns and closes his eyes, his hands tightening in his clothing ever so slightly before he deflates. 

“Understood.”

_ Well, that sounds ominous as all hell. _

“Uh, what’s she mean, Hanzo?” Jesse asks, eying the man on his bed warily. Somehow, Athena’s calm voice made the whole ordeal sound like bad news. “Ain’t nothin’ I did, I hope?”

“No, no.” Hanzo assures quickly, shaking his head. He grabs the boxers Jesse had brought him and slips them under the blankets, twisting awkwardly and kicking at the covers to get them up and over himself. Jesse watches on in facination. The lengths a man will go so he doesn’t have to stand up… “This has nothing to do with you.” And Hanzo makes a face, his nose scrunching up adorably. “That is a lie. It has everything to do with you.”

Apparently Hanzo can feel Jesse tense up, even if his eyes are covered by his shirt he’s in the process of pulling over his head. “I’m...very poor at talking about this. My apologies,” There some sort of look on Hanzo’s face Jesse has trouble placing at first, and when he does it makes him frown. That’s a look of defeat, and Jesse isn’t going to stand for it. Hanzo slips his legs from the bedding, his feet hitting the soft carpet. He reaches for the pants and starts to slip them on while Jesse sits on the bed next to him. Hanzo’s covered enough to keep it from being...too much.

“What’s got you so worked up, darlin’?” Jesse asks, realizing with a start he’s used a nickname  without thinking.  _ Whoops _ .

Hanzo, to his credit, only gets tripped up for a second. “I believe I might have been the cause of my predicament.”

Jesse blinks. “You mean like, you accidentally turned yerself into a lil’ dragon? Can your dragon magic even  _ do  _ that?”

“It’s not  _ magic _ . Not in the way you’re thinking. There’s a certain finesse to it, a connection between-” He cuts himself off. “That’s beside the point. What I meant was...I-”

Jesse gingerly lays a hand over Hanzo’s shoulder. “Take your time.”

Hanzo lets out a breath. “I’ve been under constant stress lately, and it’s been taking a toll on me. You’ve seen my performance in the simulations.” Jesse just shrugs noncommittally, not wanting Hanzo to feel worse about things. He  _ had  _ been missing his usual spark.

“And before you ask, it’s nothing you’ve done to me. Not directly. You’ve been nothing but a good friend to me, Jesse, and I cannot thank you enough.” He turns, eyes downcast. Jesse has an overwhelming need to pull him into a hug, but he has to let Hanzo get out whatever’s been eating him. However...if he’s reading the scene right… Jesse tries his best to keep his expression in check.

Hanzo brings a hand up and combs his fingers through his hair, trying to find a task for his hands and all the restless energy he’s got stored up. “There’re things I wished to talk with you about, but each time I got a chance I’d leave the room or make an excuse to myself why it wasn’t a good time. I’m still trying to convince myself  _ now _ isn’t a good time, but this has to be said.” He stands up from the bed, letting his feet take him across the room to stand in front of Jesse’s half open window. There’s a light ocean breeze coming in, and Hanzo takes it in to steel himself. Jesse stays where he’s at, still as he can be, waiting. 

Hanzo begins speaking again, voice so low Jesse has to strain to hear him. “I don’t want this to feel like a burden on you,” He’s saying, and Jesse honestly feels like he’s missed something. 

“Burden?”

Hanzo doesn’t look at him. “Yes. I kept this to myself for... _ months _ now. I felt...if you knew, it would hold you down. I thought if I told you, it would be selfish of me.” He frowns. “I don’t want you feeling guilt over something neither of us can control.” He shifts then, one arm leaning against the windowsill so he can look at Jesse. “I didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship with...unwanted advances.” He’s not looking at Jesse anymore.

“Hanzo,” Jesse says, slowly. He pushes himself up off the bed and makes his way over to the other man. “Hanzo, you’re talkin’ in circles, but if I’m gettin’ yer meanings right, I think you’ve been worryin’ yerself sick for no reason.” 

“I don’t-”

Jesse reaches out slow enough for Hanzo to pull away. He doesn’t. His fingers connect with Hanzo’s hair, brushing through the strands and cupping the side of Hanzo’s face in his hand. Hanzo’s eyes close. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it too clear how I felt ‘bout ya, darlin’. Kinda figured the same as you, ain’t willin’ t’mess up a perfectly good friendship if you weren’t feelin’ the same.” He chuckles, shaking his head at their luck. Hanzo opens his eyes a little bit, looking up at Jesse through his lashes. “Please tell me I didn’t jus’ read this whole situation wrong.”

Hanzo smiles, a genuine, toothy smile, and presses his cheek harder against Jesse’s palm. “No, you haven’t.”

“Phew, thank goodness. I’da felt right silly jus’ standing here caressin’ you if you were ‘boutta tell me I was gettin’ on your goddamn nerves or somethin’.” Hanzo smiles wider.

“Oh, make no mistake, Jesse McCree. You do that often enough.” He tilts his head up, deep brown eyes shining, and really, with the light from the window hitting them like this, how could Jesse have ever mistaken that dragon for anything else? “But, I haven’t minded in a long time.”

Jesse moves a little closer, hunching his shoulders to get just that much further down into Hanzo’s space. He slides his other hand around Hanzo’s waist, not pulling them together - though he wants to - but just feeling the warmth of the other man seeping into him. “I’m so glad you’re back.” He says, voice not quite a whisper, but it’s a close thing. 

“I’m glad to be back.” Hanzo says, lifting himself up. Jesse can feel Hanzo’s breath on his face. “With you…”

“Agents McCree and Shimada, you’ve been requested in the common room.”

Both men jump and scramble.

Jesse’s got one of his hands over his chest, the other thrown out to steady himself, while both of Hanzo’s arms are folded over the windowsill and he’s leaning heavily against it.

To Jesse’s surprise, it’s Hanzo who replies. “You’ve impeccable timing, Athena.” 

“Yes, it is a talent.” She pauses, seemingly proud of herself. “Please come to the common room at your earliest convenience.” 

Jesse swallows. “Sure thing.”

For a few minutes, they stand there staring at each other. The moment from earlier gone. Jesse moves first, straightening himself and trying to calm down. He knows how pink his face must be. He turns, a smart quip on the tip of his tongue, but he’s interrupted. 

Hanzo reaches out lightning quick, hand going up to grab the back of Jesse’s neck, forcing him down. “Don’t say anything foolish,” Hanzo warns, his mouth still split in a grin. He’s so close Jesse can almost taste him. “Just kiss me,”

“Alrigh-” is all Jesse manages to get out before Hanzo surges the last inch forward and presses his lips to Jesse’s. It’s a little rough, a little awkward since their noses bump at first, but honestly, Jesse wouldn’t have it any other way. He tilts his head to the side to make things easier, and Hanzo takes that as a go ahead to deepen the kiss. At this point, Jesse’s just along for the ride.

He replaces the hand that was around Hanzo’s waist, his other sliding up Hanzo’s arm and back against his face and neck. This time, he does pull Hanzo against him, wanting nothing more than to hold him there and bask in his warmth. What was it about Hanzo that made Jesse’s insides melt? Were dragons just naturally warm creatures? 

Hanzo makes a small noise against his mouth and Jesse can feel heat rising to his cheeks.  _ Yeah, definitely something to do with dragons.  _

When Hanzo pulls back for air, Jesse looks down at him. Hanzo’s lips are pink and shiny, his face a matching shade. Jesse’s mesmerized. 

“We should...head out.” Hanzo suggests, not making any move to leave or step out of Jesse’s space. Jesse doesn’t move either. 

“Mhm,” Jesse agrees, then, thinking of something, he squints. “So, wait.” He starts, Hanzo looking at him curiously. “How do ya figure this whole thing was yer fault?”

This gives Hanzo pause. “I...it must have been me. Maybe my dragons sensed I was at war with myself and saw fit to help...in their own way. I’ve no other explanation for it. I didn’t even know this was possible.”

“Huh. Guess so. Think it’ll happen again?”

Hanzo makes a face and finally pulls away from Jesse. “Oh, I hope not. I’m so tired of eating lunch meat.”

“An’ gettin’ water all up in yer nose.” Jesse says, grinning.

“Hush.” He looks down at Jesse’s bare legs. “Put on some pants and meet me in the hall. I’ll go grab my shoes from my room.”

“Yessir,” Jesse says, already turning to rummage through a pile of mostly clean clothes he’s got.

He’s dressed and out in the hall, joining Hanzo on their way to the common room. Hanzo turns to him. “Was anyone coming back from a mission today?”

“Uh, don’t think so. You thinkin’ that’s why they called us down? Normally this stuff’s handled in the briefing room.”

“Hm.”

When they round the corner, they both see Genji with his back facing them, and in front of Genji hovers Zenyatta, looking as serene as ever. Genji does not acknowledge them as they enter, though Zenyatta does tilt his faceplate up ever so slightly in greeting. 

“Hey, Genji, Zenny.” Jesse says, in a good mood for the first time in days. “Y’all called us out here?”

Zenyatta nods. “Yes. We heard the good news.” He turns his face to make it clear he’s addressing Hanzo. “I trust there were no ill effects?”

Hanzo looks confused. “No?”

“Ah, good. I was afraid perhaps you’d lose something of yourself, being trapped in that form for so long. Longer than I expected in any case.”

“You...what? You  _ expected _ ?” Hanzo’s brows draw together, and he starts to stalk towards Zenyatta, only stopped when Jesse hastily puts one of his hands on his shoulder. Jesse isn’t looking at him, however, he’s too busy staring at Zenyatta in astonishment.

“ _ You _ did this to me?”

“Not at all!” Zenyatta’s voice is deceptively calm. Genji still hasn’t moved a muscle from his place on the ground. 

“You just said-”

“Hanzo, all I did was...suggest to those spirits of yours that something needed to be done. You’ve made an effort to join us in meditation,” He says, gracefully drifting one hand down to gesture at Genji. “But even that has not quieted your soul. Things you could not work through on your own plagued your mind. We could all see it.”

What Jesse can see is Hanzo brimming. He flexes his fingers in the muscle of Hanzo’s shoulder, and that seems to calm him for the time being. Good.

“Why-”

“Did your dragons chose their own form for you? That I do not know, you’ll have to ask them yourself.”

Hanzo shakes his head. “No. Why didn’t you tell Jesse?”

Jesse blinks. “Huh?” But Hanzo doesn’t acknowledge him.

“This whole time, Jesse’s been nothing but upset at my...disappearance. If you  _ knew _ where I was,  _ what  _ I was, then why did you keep that from him?”

Zenyatta brings his fingers back together, and stays silent for a few moments. “I did not think it would matter if he knew or not.” He admits, though he sounds unsure of his answer.

“The entire reason I kept my feelings to myself was  _ for him! _ I was afraid of making him suffer because of me. But this whole time, he’s been doing exactly that! I never wanted this.”

Zenyatta holds one of his fingers up delicately. “Ah, well, I can explain-”

“I don’t care for your explanations.”

Finally, Genji lifts his head. “Brother,” He says, and Jesse can feel Hanzo’s tension start to fade. “Do not be angry with him. It was both of our faults for not telling Jesse of your fate.”

“ _ You  _ knew too?”

“Yes, after the first time Jesse brought you out here to us.”

“Why keep it to yourselves, then?”

Genji stands up and walks over to Hanzo, hands out in front of himself placatingly. “Ms. Amari also had her suspicions. Honestly,” He turns his head towards Jesse now. “We thought once Jesse stopped asking after you, that he had also figured it out.”

Jesse feels his stomach drop when Hanzo turns to him slowly, a little hopeful. “Well. No.” He admits, cringing when Hanzo swings back around with that glare of his aimed at his brother and Zenyatta. “T’be fair, I was mostly worried ‘bout keepin’ my new dragon buddy alive. Ain’t never had a lizard before. Didn’t wanna accidentally kill ya.” He rubs little circles into Hanzo’s shoulder with his thumb. “After I got that worked out, I figured...well. No use stressin’ over someone who don’t wanna be found. You’d come back in yer own time. Hopefully.” He chances a look at Hanzo, and really, he should have kept his mouth shut. 

Hanzo looks miserable, gaze firmly set on the floor. “I am sorry I put you through this, Jesse. It was never my intention.”

Jesse clicks his tongue. “Now now. We ain’t havin’ none of that, okay? You didn’t know this would happen. No harm’s been done. We got’cha back in one piece, didn’t we?” He tries his best to turn Hanzo to face him, but the man was more stubborn than a bull when he wanted to be. “Sides...I’m thinkin’ it was for the best. You had time ta think, didn’t ya?”

Hanzo’s nodding, but his eyes aren’t really focused. Jesse keeps talking. He is good at talking. “Worked through what had your insides all in a knot, yeah?” Another nod. “I’m a big boy. Had my fair share of disappointments and grief over the years. But this? Hanzo,” He finally manages to manhandle Hanzo around fully. He waits for him to meet his eyes. “Hanzo, this is the furthest thing from an upset I can think of. Be truthful with me now. You think you’d’ve told me all that you did if this didn’t happen?”

“In time,” Hanzo says, sounding unconvinced by his own words. “A long time.”

“Well,” Jesse starts, his hands running up and down Hanzo’s arms. “In our line’a work, we don’t have too much time to kill moping around with all these ‘what ifs’ an’ doubts. Gotta take action if you want something.” He looks up to see both Genji and Zenyatta staring at him. Or...at least they look like they are. “An’ ya certainly did that earlier.” He says, smiling brightly and trying not to think about the other two in the room. 

Hanzo’s eyes widen and he whips around to glare at Genji when he lets out a soft laugh.

“Sorry, sorry.” Genji says, backing up. “I’m happy for you, brother.”

Once again, Hanzo softens. Jesse just keeps on smiling, seeing the joy slowly creep back into Hanzo’s eyes, replacing the anger and irritation. “Thank you,” He taps Jesse’s forearm to get him to let go, and starts to walk back to the living quarters. “I think I need some tea. Meet me in the kitchen.” Jesse watches him walk away until he’s around the corner and out of sight. 

One of Zenyatta’s fans kicks up, his humming louder now. “Well! That went better than I expected!”

Genji shakes his head. “You were really playing with fire this time, Master. You know my brother.”

“You know him better than any of us, and you were not worried. I had no cause to be.”

“Mmm, fair enough. Jesse!”

Jesse blinks. “Yeah?”

“So Hanzo confessed his feelings for you, did he?”

Jesse knew his cheeks were getting hot again, but really, by now he should be used to it. “In his own way, yes.” He admits, unable to keep the smirk off his face. 

Genji curls up on himself a little, exaggerating his response. “Ugh, keep it to yourself. I’m just happy he got that out. He’s been actin’ all constipated for months now.”

Zenyatta makes a soft sound. “Poor choice of words, but I do share your sentiments.” He turns. “Jesse, will you be taking your morning coffee with him? He doesn’t usually extend invitations so lightly. It would be wise not to linger.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry if I’m interrupting’ y’alls meditation in here.”

“Not at all. We called you here, after all.” Zenyatta floats back to his original spot, with Genji settling back down on the soft cushion he sat on before. 

As he’s about to leave, something stops him. “Can I ask somethin’ real quick?” Zenyatta inclines his head. “So...did you really turn him into a tiny lil’ dragon? For real?”

Zenyatta’s laughter fills the room, the sound of it oddly soothing. “Oh no, no. I had nothing to do with the form he took.” Jesse gets the distinct feeling he’s being smiled at. “I suppose we are all fortunate his dragons did not make him full size.”

Jesse has a sudden, vivid image of a massive, hulking beast of a creature coiled in his room, head large enough to cover his bed completely. “I couldn’t feed that.” He says simply, making both Zenyatta and Genji laugh this time. “Oh! Speakin’ of which...he’s pry half starved by now! Should whip us up a quick breakfast.” Jesse turns on his heel, heading off. 

Genji calls after him. “Just don’t feed him any lunch meat!” 

Jesse’s chuckling all the way down the hall.

\--

Once his water’s boiled and his tea put together, Hanzo settles himself into a nearby chair and waits. Both hands curl around the warm mug as he stares down into the liquid. Despite waking up around an hour prior, he’s absolutely exhausted. Emotionally drained and elated all at once. It took everything in him to talk with Jesse, and even then he barely got out what he meant to. 

But Jesse understood. He always understood. He was good at filling in the blanks Hanzo leaves behind. 

His tea’s cool enough to sip, which he does slowly, trying to savour the flavor after going such a long time with nothing but water. It’s like this Jesse finds him. Mouth brushing against the rim of his mug and staring blankly at the far wall. 

“Hey there.” Jesse greets, his warm voice filling Hanzo with a fresh wave of affection. He breaks himself from his thoughts, smiling up at Jesse as he starts to busy himself at the counter. 

“Hello,”

“How you feel ‘bout some chorizo an’ eggs t’day? I promised to make it for ya next time we were both up at breakfast, but uh. Well.” He shrugs, moving to dig in the fridge for things he needed. 

“I would like to try some, thank you.” 

Jesse sets a roll of chorizo on the counter, his other hand holding two eggs while he fumbled with the carton. “Mm-nn, nope. Don’t get all formal on me after all the shit we been through. I know ya do that when yer nervous.” He turns, cracking the eggs into a pan with one hand. “Don’t gotta hide nothin’ from me again, darlin’.”

Hanzo rises from his seat while Jesse stirs the meat in the pan. He picks his mug up and brings it with him, coming to stand beside Jesse and watch. “Alright. I won’t keep things from you anymore.” 

“S’what I like ta hear.” Jesse reaches out to turn down the heat, scooting around Hanzo and tapping at his thigh to get him to move over. “Can ya stir this fer a beat? Forgot to chop the nopales first.”

Hanzo sets down his mug, picking up the spatula and stirring the meat around the pan. The smell of it is starting to remind him just how  _ hungry _ he is. Seems either way the transformation takes a lot out of his body. Jesse starts to hum something non-descript next to him as he dices strips of cactus, the two falling into a comfortable and easy rhythm. 

“Thank you.” He says again. Feels like he needs to.

Jesse doesn’t look up. “Nah, I like cookin’. No problem,”

“No, not for the meal. Well...not  _ just _ for the meal. I mean, thank you. For everything.” He bumps his hip against Jesse’s, earning himself a grin from the other man. “You’ve never not been there for me, you know that?”

“Hmm?”

“Even when we first met, when I was certain you hated me for what I had done, you have always been there. Helping me around the base, getting me used to the layout. Helping me run through team drills after having been a lone wolf for so long. Helping me become acquainted with the rest of the team here, helping me feel welcome. Even helping me through much of my self-doubt. You made sure I knew I wasn’t the only one with past regrets. I never felt alone here.” He stirs the pan again, then chances a look at Jesse, who had stopped cutting. 

Jesse’s eyes are watery around the edges, his lips pressed tightly together. Hanzo swallows down the wave of emotions hitting him all at once. 

“Shit, sweetheart, damn near made me cry. Think I still might.” He says, wiping at his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “You been keepin’ all that in ya this whole time?” When Hanzo can only nod, Jesse lets out a low whistle. “Well no wonder your lil’ dragons decided they had ta do something about that. C’mere,” He sets his knife down and steps away from the counter, his arms held out.

Hanzo looks back at the stove, pausing only to turn off the burner before moving into Jesse’s embrace. 

They stand there like that for a long time, Jesse’s arms wrapped tightly around Hanzo’s middle, with Hanzo’s own arms up and around Jesse’s back, his face pressed tightly against the side of Jesse’s neck.

They breathe each other’s air for a time, swaying slightly to some unknown beat, before Hanzo’s stomach breaks the silence. He looks down at his traitorous belly with a scowl. 

“Ha, I get the hint. Let’s get this finished.” Jesse says, resuming his work. Hanzo turns the burner back on, grabbing his mug and downing the rest of his cold tea. 

“Yes, please. I’m starving.”

“You an’ me both.” Jesse slides the chopped and rinsed nopalitos into the pan, moving back to the fridge to grab a few other things while Hanzo stirs everything together, completely at ease for the first time in a long time. 

He turns, watching Jesse move about the kitchen, and smiles. “After this, could we lie down for a nap?”

Jesse laughs. “That all you wanna do?”

Hanzo only keeps smiling, though perhaps his smile turns a little bit more like a smirk the longer he looks at Jesse. “Yes. For now.” He says.

Jesse adds more things into the pan, moving into Hanzo’s space and placing a quick kiss on the top of his head. “Alright, darlin’. I’d like that.”

“Good.”

“Say,” Jesse starts, looking at Hanzo smugly, like he had a secret. “This a bad time to ask ‘bout all the cowboy stuff up in your closet?”

Hanzo freezes, eyes wide. “You didn’t,”

“Yeah, kinda hard ta miss.” Jesse’s smile just about stretches across his entire face. 

“Oh my god,” 

“Won’t say nothin’ ta anyone, promise.” 

Hanzo eyes him, unable to keep a matching grin off his own face at Jesse’s playful tone. “You had better not. I’ll know if you do.”

“Oh, trust me, my lips are sealed. So long as ya promise to have a few movie nights with me. Deal?”

Hanzo rolls his eyes, nudging Jesse’s side with his elbow. “Fine. But I get to pick the films.”

The answering laugh he gets from Jesse is alone worth all the trouble in the world. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Lost dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10958649) by [Twistedluck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twistedluck/pseuds/Twistedluck)




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